I was feeling a little blue because my mother had been laid off from her job and she had lots of bills to pay. It left me wondering what was going to happen to us now. But it reassured me some when my mother told me she was relieved to be leaving since her boss wasn't the nicest person to be around.

I got off the college shuttle bus and started walking. That's when I heard piano music and singing rising above the noise of the people and the traffic. I walked a little slower so I could find out where it was coming from. Through the crowd I saw a young lady sitting at a piano with a carriage next to her.[来源:Zxxk.Com]

She was singing songs about love, keeping on trying, and not underestimating the power within yourself. The way she was singing comforted me a bit. I stood there watching her play for about fifteen minutes, thinking that it must take courage to perform on your own in the middle of a crowded New York ferry terminal. 

So I stood there listening.

She must have felt my presence because she would occasionally look in my direction. By now I was telling myself that if she could perform in front of hundreds of people she didn't know then I could at least tell her how good she sounded. I walked over and put some money in her carriage and she said, "Thank you." Instead of continuing my way home, I said to her, "I have been going through a rough time lately, but you've made me hopeful again."

"I'm happy that I could help," she replied. "Why are you so sad?"

"Well, my mum told me she had got fired from her job, and that made me sad. I'm not so sure what to do ..."

"You see, here's the problem," she explained. "The way you were walking, your head was down. Don't look defeated, because opportunity comes in different ways and if your head is down you might never see it. You should smile more ... lift your head up."

I smiled faintly, amazed by how she was encouraging me. So, I asked her, "Why are you playing the piano in the middle of a crowded place? I've seen you do this more than once."

She explained to me that she sees a lot of negative people in the world and she tries to alleviate the pain and bring more positivity by sharing motivational music. She told me that when she wasn't making music she studied psychology. So, that was how she knew some of the things she was telling me.

I smiled a little wider because I knew that she was doing a good thing. So, after that we parted, my heart touched and lightened by a musical soul!

1.We can learn from Paragraph 3 that the young lady sang to _________.

A.show her love for life

B.rid herself of low spirits

C.earn money for her schooling

D.inspire others to live positively

2.Which word may best describe the young lady?

A.helpful

B.outgoing

C.ambitious

D.humorous

3.Which do you think is the best title of the passage?  

A.An Unforgettable Experience

B.A Heart Touched By A Musical Soul

C.Music Can Do Wonders

D.A Good Deed Helped Me Out

 

阅读理解。
     Nikkli was brought up from a vey early age by her father while her sister was raised by her mother.
Nikki spent a very small amount of time with her mum and sister when she was about 6 years old, but
soon after contact stopped when communication broke down between her parents.
     She never felt she wanted to find her family while she was growing up. But now with a husband and
a son, she decided it was the right time.
     Nikki didn't know where to start, but her husband's mum had used 192. com for finding people
before and recommended it to her. With the help of her son, she started by searching for her sister's
full name on the electoral roll (选民登记册) without a location, because she had no idea where she
lived, even her date of birth. From that one search, the site returned two results listed in the area they
used to live.
     Nikki decided to call the first number. To her absolute surprise, it was her long lost sister! So after
20 years, it was one phone call that helped her contact her sister! Her sister then passed her number
on to her mother, who called Nikki straight away, and it was like they had never been apart.
     Her mum was so glad to find out Nikki was well that they arranged to meet everyone that Saturday
(3 days after the phone call) where she was reunited with her sister and met her two nephews for the
first time. Nikki also found out she had a half (同父异母的) sister and brother.
     When talking about the reunion, Nikki said, "192.com made finding my long lost family very easy.
I was not on any social networking sites before and surprisingly neither was my sister or mum, so we
would never have found each other that way."
     Nikki will be spending her first Christmas tighter with the other side of her family this year.
1. What did Nikki know about her sister before her searching? 
A. Her address.  
B. Her birthday.  
C. Her name.  
D. Her telephone number.
2. It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that _________.
A. Nikki's mum has a bad memory now
B. Nikki is about 26 years old now
C. Nikki's sister lives with her mum together
D. Nikki dialed another phone number to contact her mum
3. What can we learn about Nikki from the passage?
A. She knows much about the Internet.
B. Her sister has not got married so far.
C. Her mum got birth to four children in all.
D. She got in touch with her mum on Monday.
4. All of the following made contributions to Nikki's reunion with her family EXCEPT _______.  
A. her father    
B. 192.com      
C. her son      
D. her mother-in-law
5. The text is mainly about _______. 
A. how to find a family member
B. a wonderful Christmas
C. how important the electoral roll is
D. a family reunion thanks to 192.com

 

Here is a true story about a famous man who worked in the White House and a criminal. They once faced the same thing: their mother gave them apples when they were young.

The criminal said: one day, my mother brought some apples and asked my brother and me: “Which do you want?” “The reddest and biggest one,” my little brother said. My mother stared at him and said to him angrily: “You should learn to give the good things to others; you shouldn’t always think of yourself.” Seeing this, I suddenly changed my idea and then said to my mother: “Mum, please give me the smaller one and give the bigger one to my little brother.” Hearing my words, my mother was very happy. She kissed me on my face and gave the reddest and biggest apple to me as a prize. From then on, I learned to tell lies, fight, steal and rob. In order to get what I wanted, I played hard. As a result, I was sent into prison.www..com

The famous man from the White House said: One day, my mother brought some apples. She said to my brother and me: “You all want the reddest and biggest one, right? Well, let’s have a competition. Now I divide the grassland in front of the gate into two and I will give one to each of you and you must shear(修剪) it well. And I will give the reddest and biggest apple to him who does it the most quickly and best.”

After the competition, I won and I got the biggest apple. In our family, as long as you want to get the best things, you must take part in competition. I think it is fair. No matter what you want, you must pay lots of efforts.

51. The criminal got the reddest and biggest apple because      .

A. he told the truth that he wanted a smaller one

B. his mother loved him more than she loved the younger brother

C. elder brother should of course have the bigger one

D. he knew how to make his mother happy from her answer

52. We can conclude from the passage that      .

A. it’s important to make children aware that no matter what they want, they must pay work

B. it’s wrong to ask children to choose apples when they are not old enough

C. it’s wrong to ask children not to always think of themselves

D. it’s always necessary to have a competition when we give children apple

53. The writer tells the story by      .

A. organizing it in the order of time           B. making a comparison between two men

C. providing some scientific information      D. describing it in the order of space

54. It is implied in the passage that      .

A. we should always try to win competitions which can bring us a lot

B. in order to get what we want, we should play hard

C. giving children apples will lead them to become criminals

D. a mother’s educational method has a great influence on a child’s growing

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